TRP: Finch, Jonn, and Roddy (Warehouse)
Muse: at 3:42 PM Basha Warehouse. Roddy has just snuck off from following Larkin around. He really wasn't supposed to be here. Roddy knew that. But frankly, at the moment he didn't care. Now he was wanting to think again- and really that had worked out so well last time. Yet here he was again, not having learned his lesson, finding himself a window and staring out it at the mess outside. Sometimes being an adventurer sucked. Izzy: at 3:46 PM Something scrabbled quietly against the roof tiles outside. A moment later, there was movement outside the window -- a shadow about to move in front, then quickly pulling back, and another sound of someone almost slipping off the roof. Then, more carefully this time, Jonn leaned around the edge of the window frame, and grinned widely when he saw that it was, in fact, Roddy. He waved cheerily and mimed opening the window. Muse: at 3:49 PM It was a mess outside. Puppets still milling around. Jonn upside down in the window. Wait. WHAT? Roddy shot bolt upright, staring. Almost shouted Jonn's name but clamped his mouth shut just in time. Furtively he glanced around, nobody was looking, so he opened the window and leaned out. "Jonn! What in Helm's name are you doing here?" he stage-whispered. "Your gonna get hosted!" Izzy: at 3:53 PM Jonn waved it off. "Nah. Rooftops. We're too slippery to get caught by those fuckin' things." He kept grinning and crouched down to better keep his balance. Once Roddy leaned out and Jonn shifted, Roddy could see that the 'we' referred to another dark-clothed person behind Jonn, looking less steady on his feet and generally less comfortable with the entire situation. "Hey, I didn't expect you to be here," Jonn said. "You doing okay? Is my dad with you?" His grin faded a bit. "Is he okay?" Muse: at 3:56 PM "Hansel's okay. Or- alive at least. I don't think any of us are 'okay' at the moment," Roddy said, making a face. "Uh, hey. Are you that guy that fell out the belltower?" Roddy asked, giving Jonn's companion a little wave. Izzy: at 4:01 PM Jonn's friend didn't respond, glancing at Roddy for a moment with a suspicious look and then hissing at Jonn. Jonn waved at him dismissively without looking back. "Yeah, that was him. He's my partner, his name's Finch, he's an asshole, don't mind him. Why are you guys here, though?" Finch hissed at him again and Jonn ignored him. He growled under his breath and turned away, making his unsteady way further up the roof. Muse: at 4:04 PM Roddy craned his neck to watch this 'Finch' person go. Didn't seem too happy. "Oh we killed Ripley but there were lots of puppets coming so we came to hide out here," he said distractedly. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be- I dunno- somewhere not so infested?" he asked, gesturing at the crowd of puppets below. Izzy: at 4:08 PM Jonn shrugged. "I mean, the whole city's pretty much like this. We've been doing all right so far." He paused, thinking. They'd killed Ripley? He didn't like Ripley, but he'd thought that all of them did. Roddy seemed pretty unfazed about it, though. It'd be interesting to dig into that further, but Finch was going to get even more annoying if Jonn kept him waiting. "Anyway." He looked past Roddy into the warehouse, but couldn't see anything. "Listen, is that tiefling still working with you guys? Not the captain, the other one. Larkin. She safe?" Muse: at 4:14 PM "Oh yeah, nobody in the party's dead at least," Roddy said. "Goro got hosted though. We're gonna kill Diva tomorrow though, should get him back then." Roddy could feel splinters biting into his palms as his grip on the windowsill tightened. His voice had gotten higher as he'd mentioned the upcoming Diva-fight. "Maybe you should- not come in though. I think everyone's still mad." Izzy: at 4:19 PM Jonn tilted his head. He'd gotten so out of the loop since they'd taken the ship offshore and he hadn't been able to spy on them anymore. Killed Ripley, gotten Goro hosted, apparently going to kill Diva. He hadn't known that was even an option. He hissed up at Finch, and while his partner was making his way back down to the window, he said, "Oh, yeah, I didn't wanna come in. We're not friends with the Bashas anyway." He grinned, a little too toothily. "And I guess I'm not friends with you guys, either. Except you. I'm glad you're not mad at me, anyway. You get it, right?" Muse: at 6:49 PM "Uh, not really?" Roddy admitted. "No one- really explained to me what was going on. Just- uh- everyone got mad at you. And Goro said not to talk to you any more." Oh right. Goro had said that. Roddy glanced back into the warehouse, considering. Goro had good advice. Sometimes. Okay you know, considering Goro was now sitting in a basement, host to a hivemind, and that was kinda his own fault, Roddy was thinking it was probably all right if he ignored Goro's advice. Izzy: at 7:00 PM "Oh. I figured --." Figured they'd have all turned on him. Maybe Hansel had stopped them. Jonn shifted, crossing his legs under him. Finch joined them and he hastily signed to him in thieves cant, She's safe, before turning back to Roddy. "I made a deal with that Diva thing, you know?" he said. "'Cause of fucking Mishka. I had to keep him from hurting Dad any more -- Hansel, I mean. And I couldn't do it by myself." He hesitated. "You know what happened last time, I almost fuckin' died. And so did Dad. Diva said she would make Mishka suffer, so --." He shrugged. "I didn't know she was going to use him to firebomb everyone and shit. I'm just trying to protect Dad. That's -- I mean, since I'm not around, you can help with that, right?" he asked, leaning forward. Muse: at 7:10 PM Mishka. Right. Roddy should- really really not mention that they'd gotten him unhosted. "Yeah, uh, I get that," he said cautiously. "Um. I'll do my best. Just uh. Diva's- really strong. And- well- just look at all those." Roddy gestured down at the puppets milling around. "Wouldn't- wouldn't be surprised if none of us made it," he said, flashing a quick, shaky grin. You know. It was curious though. Had- anyone bothered to ask Jonn his side of the story here? Protecting Hansel- well if Roddy was going to make a deal with Diva for anything, that would be a good cause. Sure it backfired terribly but- Roddy doubted Jonn expected this outcome. He knew Goro hadn't. Izzy: at 7:39 PM Huh. Jonn tried to figure out what Roddy's reaction might imply about how well Hansel was taking the whole thing, but it was too complicated. Hansel must be ... okay? Maybe -- maybe he would have been okay anyway, without Jonn doing anything. Maybe he wasn't as attached to Mishka as Jonn had thought. He chewed his lip. Maybe this had all been a mistake. Then he brushed it off. Useless to think about it now. He gave Roddy another grin. "I'd help but -- I think people might shoot me again. Kinda defeats the purpose." He thought for a second. "I dunno. Is there anything I can do, d'you think? To help you and Dad?" Muse: at 7:44 PM "Um," Roddy tried to think, was there anything Jonn could do to help? Wait- "You know Goro thinks- thought- whatever, it's- possible that Diva is still- able to see and hear the things you do," Roddy told Jonn. "I'm a little lost on the why's but- Goro studied magic I just sing and things blow up," he said with a shrug. "So uh, maybe I shouldn't tell you too much, might get back to Diva." Izzy: at 7:52 PM Jonn blinked. "Yeah, that's smart. I didn't know that." Roddy was being ... weird. Didn't fit with what Jonn had noticed about him before. Something had changed. In Jonn's experience, when people started treating him differently, it meant he'd done something wrong. He tried to figure out what that might've been -- he hadn't been able to do anything with Roddy since the last time they'd seen each other, and things had been fine then. "Did you guys ever go the Sanctuary of Eldath?" he probed. "Or, I mean, don't tell me because of the Diva thing if you think that's better." Maybe Luci had said something. Behind him, Finch muttered, "We should fucking go." Muse: at 8:03 PM Roddy hesitated a moment, thinking it over. But really, the information seemed pretty harmless. "Um. Yeah. I met Luci! She's nice, I like her. We threw swords in a lake." Oh right. Jonn didn't know Hansel was Dad for Roddy too. ...You know Roddy didn't really want to tell him that either. Made his stomach feel funny. Roddy shot a glance at Finch. He probably had a point, but everything was going okay so far. "If your worried about falling you could just go hang out back there further," he offered helpfully. "Probably don't have to worry about getting hurt, but the puppets and all." Izzy: at 8:18 PM There was some hesitation there, but Jonn didn't have enough information to guess what it was over. Luci was probably fine, though, or Roddy wouldn't know about the thing with the lake. They'd prayed together then. He liked that. Finch scowled in response and Jonn swatted at him, then grabbed him to pull him closer and put an arm around his shoulders. "Be fuckin' nice to Roddy." To Roddy, he added, "Finch just wanted to come here to see if Larkin was still alive." (Finch shoved at him, but not hard on to get away.) "I'm glad you were here though. I miss hanging out with you on the ship and stuff." Again, he considered for a moment. "Hey, once you guys kill Diva and all, can we meet up again? Dad can find me. You can come with him." He looked his best approximation of hopeful. Muse: at 8:28 PM "I can tell Larkin you dropped- oh no wait actually that would probably be a bad idea," Roddy started to say. "Well. Uh. Maybe next time you can actually talk to her. Instead of- doing something really dramatic again." It had been cool though. "Yeah, miss you too," Roddy mumbled. "I'll- mention it. Once Diva's dead. If we're both still alive." Izzy: at 8:40 PM "I don't wanna fucking talk to her," Finch snapped, then looked away sullenly. Jonn shot him a glare. "I said be fucking nice." He looked back to Roddy, his fingers tapping against Finch's shoulder. In his deal with Diva, he'd tried to keep her from being able to hurt Roddy, but he didn't know if it'd extend this far. He couldn't remember the exact words. He'd written them down, but then he'd lost his notebook. "I really hope you don't die," he said bluntly. "When I made that deal I told Diva not to hurt you, but ... I dunno. Stuff didn't work out how I planned. I think I made a -- dumb decision," he admitted. What would Hansel say? (Finch hissed at him as his fingers dug into his shoulder.) "Be careful. I can come back here tomorrow night and check on you?" Muse: at 8:48 PM Huhwha- Jonn had tried to keep Diva from hurting Roddy? That was- nicer than he'd expected. Roddy stared blankly for a minute before shaking his head. Right. Plans For if he survived. He'd been too busy fretting to consider what he'd be doing. "Uh. I don't think we're very welcome here. Probably- a bad place to meet up. Um. Maybe- outside where the Sausage used to be? That's a more neutral area. Again, assuming, I don't die." Roddy started drumming a beat into the windowsill. "I really hope I don't die," he said quietly, staring at the puppets down below. Izzy: at 9:02 PM That was perfect -- that was his meeting place with Hansel, too. Roddy was on the same page as them. Good. Good. Jonn's fingers drummed on Finch's shoulder again as he smiled. "You'll be okay. Dad'll protect you." His head tilted again. "He looks at you the same way he looks at me, y'know?" Same way he looked at Luci. Same way Flynn had looked at Jonn. He thought about that fireball again, the scorch marks on the deck. Mishka could have fucking killed Roddy with that, the way he'd killed Flynn. Well -- not Mishka, that time. Diva. She hadn't kept her part of the deal from the start, had she? "Hey, I really wish I could help you fuckin' kill that Diva motherfucker," he said brightly. "And if she's listening, I hope she heard me say that." Maybe that was a bit too much to say to Roddy, but he wasn't sure anymore. What would Hansel do? Probably a hug. Jonn didn't know if he should do that; usually when he hugged people other than Hansel, it made them uncomfortable. He must be doing it wrong. He reached out awkwardly instead to pat Roddy's shoulder. Muse: at 9:12 PM Roddy let out a wheezy, slightly hysterical laugh. "You know I kinda wish that too," he said, briefly reaching up to squeeze Jonn's arm. Maybe- maybe he should share that Dad thing with Jonn. Just- just in case they never met again? "Um. Yeah. We've talked- me and Hansel- and- he's kinda Dad for me too?" Roddy shot a brief glance up at Jonn before looking away. Hopefully he wasn't going to be jealous. "He's- a good dad." Izzy: at 9:24 PM Jonn vibrated a bit in excitement. He knew it. He'd been right. Hansel wanted more kids, and Jonn already liked Roddy. And Roddy liked Luci. Maybe after this was over they could just -- all go somewhere that people didn't want to kill Jonn, and settle down. Hansel would like that. He needed a rest. "Yeah, he is. That's good. That's perfect." He couldn't stop grinning. "So, you're gonna be fine. 'Cause he always takes care of me, so he'll take care of you." Muse: at 9:33 PM Jonn wasn't jealous? Looked more- excited even. That- that was good. Roddy wasn't sure how to take it, but that was good. Roddy mustered up a weak smile, the lingering thought still in the back of his mind that maybe Hansel wouldn't be able to take care of him this time. Or Roddy wouldn't be able to take care of Hansel. Or- too many bad thoughts. Don't think about those. "Yeah. And- you- you stay safe till Diva's dead okay? Or- if we um- if in twenty four hours things haven't got better around here you should both do your best to get out of Skyport. Not that it'll matter in the long run." Izzy: at 9:47 PM Weird. No one had ever told him to stay safe apart from Hansel. Jonn shrugged. "I mean, I'll go where the guild sends me, I guess." He glanced at Finch, who shrugged back at him, then lightly said, "But I'll see you tomorrow. Don't worry about it." That was what Hansel would say. Don't worry about it. It'll be fine. We'll be fine. I'll take care of it. He was running out of things to say, but Hansel said the same shit a lot, and it did always make him calm down. He was sure Hansel had already said all this to Roddy, though. (That was good. That was really, really good.) His fingers dug into Finch a little bit again, and Finch finally brushed him off completely. "We need to fuckin' go, Jonn." Jonn rolled his eyes. "It's not gonna get any fuckin' darker, Finch." He grinned at Roddy again, then impulsively leaned in to quickly hug him, one-armed, around the neck. "Take care of Dad, okay? I gotta get this motherfucker back to his panic room." Muse: at 10:07 PM This was an awkward angle to hug from, so Roddy just stuck to patting Jonn's arm. "Yeah, I bet Larkin would be glad that you're not dead," Roddy said to Finch. "Just- be careful." Which he'd already said but. "Don't wanna lose anyone." Izzy: at 10:17 PM "Don't tell her you saw me," Finch grumbled. Jonn rolled his eyes again. So paranoid. He pushed himself up and backed away from the window, pulling Finch along. "You should probably close the window before the Bashas see you or anything. Those people are fuckin' vicious. We'll stay safe. You -- do the same." He didn't really want to leave, but he knew it would be better for all of them if he did. Hansel was so close. And it had been such a long time. And he really had missed Roddy -- even if Roddy was different now. Had to be his dad's influence. Hansel had made him different, too. Better, probably. He backed up a few more feet and waved before looking out across the dark rooftops, grabbing Finch's hand and plotting a safe course back to the bunker. end Category:Text Roleplay